PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) PT Lowered to $139.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $140.00 to $139.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on PPG. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $145.00 to $144.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PPG Industries from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of PPG Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of PPG Industries from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $151.08.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG stock opened at $125.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.93 and a 200-day moving average of $135.76. PPG Industries has a 12-month low of $120.32 and a 12-month high of $151.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.26.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.02. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 23.57%. The company had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that PPG Industries will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.92%.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish bought 2,061 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 13,266 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

About PPG Industries

PPG Industries, Inc manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings. The Performance Coatings segment offers coatings, solvents, adhesives, sealants, sundries, and software for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing, light industrial coatings, and specialty coatings for signs; wood stains; paints, thermoplastics, pavement marking products, and other advanced technologies for pavement marking for government, commercial infrastructure, painting, and maintenance contractors; and coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft.